Skaters Aren't My Type
by LunarQueenBri
Summary: Soulmate AU. Everyone has a countdown tattooed on their wrists, but personally, Annabeth thinks it's stupid. That is, until she finds out Thalia's cocky badboy of a cousin is moving to California on the same day Annabeth's countdown is supposed to end. Rated T for language. *Trigger warning: mentions of abuse*.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I know I know, why am I starting another story when I haven't posted the last chapter of Royally Screwed?**

**I really don't know. I just got bored and inspired by this post on Tumblr about Soulmate AUs, so, enjoy I guess.**

**This isn't going to be a very long story, probably five or six chapters at the most.**

**This is beta'd by my lovely friend Ashlyn (hi Ash!).**

**Disclaimer: Yeah I don't own PJO or the idea for a Soulmate AU, either!**

* * *

Annabeth groaned into her pillow as her alarm clock went off. She quite literally rolled out of bed, then stood up and blinked the sleep out of her eyes. Sighing internally at the thought of school today, she quickly stepped in the shower, relying on the scalding water to fully wake her up.

She subconsciously scratched at the countdown imprinted on her wrist. Everyone was born with tattoos on their wrists that counted down the day until they were supposed to meet their soulmate. There was never any scientific evidence discovered on this strange phenomenon, so people just gave up trying to explain it.

Annabeth had always scoffed at the idea. I mean, you meet someone, your countdown ends, and you're automatically meant to be together? It sounded like a load of bullshit to the blonde.

She finally hopped out of the shower, drying herself off and pulled on a gray t-shirt, purple flannel and a pair of skinny jeans. She didn't bother trying to style her hair, instead opting to pull it back into a messy ponytail.

Her step mother handed Annabeth her lunch bag with an amused smile at her rushing, and Annabeth accepted it gratefully, secretly hoping for pb&amp;j.

Hearing an impatient honk outside, she grabbed her ipod and backpack and ran out the door, yelling "Bye dad, bye Susan!" behind her.

Thalia was waiting in her car at the end of the driveway, grinning at Annabeth. "Hey there Owl Girl!" She teased, and Annabeth rolled her eyes before throwing her stuff in the back and hopping in shotgun.

Thalia, though she was a year older, had been Annabeth's best friend for years. Today she was dressed in her trademark leather jacket, a Blink-182 t-shirt, dark skinny jeans and black combat boots, as usual. It was then that Annabeth recognized _American Idiot _by Green Day blasting through the stereo.

Thalia smirked at Annabeth through her dark sunglasses and gestured down to the blonde girl's wrist. "Only a week until the big day, huh?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. Her wrist currently read 6:4:37:8. She glared down at her arm as if her own wrist was to blame, which, she supposed it was, in a way. Thalia had found her soulmate back when they were kids, the first day they met Luke Castellan. They had been dating since they started high school, and he was always like a big brother to Annabeth.

Most of Annabeth's friends had already found their soulmates. Grover Underwood's countdown had stopped when he met a girl named Juniper when she transferred to their school. Silena Bauregard's wrist had stopped when she was in middle school, right when she literally ran into Charles Beckendorf in the hallway. Piper McLean had just met her soulmate last week, when a boy named Jason Grace, a friend of Grover's, had asked for her help on a project. Hazel and Frank had known they were soulmates since elementary school.

Long story short, Annabeth was one of the only ones out of their group of friends who hadn't found hers yet, besides Nico, Leo and Rachel.

Thalia pulled out into the street, literally jerking Annabeth out of her thoughts. Thalia's driving definitely was not the best, but at least it was moderately safe, and much better than having to take the bus with fifty smelly and perverted high schoolers and an annoyed bus driver.

"You know," Thalia mentioned, "my cousin's moving here Saturday." She glanced nonchalantly at Annabeth's wrist.

Annabeth snorted. "Oh you can't seriously think-"

"Nah you're right, he's such an asshole. Too bad boy for you," Thalia waved it off. "His name is Percy Jackson, he's in your grade. Skateboards, wears leather jackets, that type."

Annabeth scrunched her nose. She couldn't stand cocky guys. Hopefully this guy's countdown would be different than hers. Hopefully.

"Definitely not my type," Annabeth confirmed, and they both laughed.

Thalia readjusted her hand on the steering wheel and looked over at Annabeth for a second. "But just to make sure, could you come over Saturday and help us move him in? Him and his mom are moving into that empty house in the neighborhood. I can play good music and shove it in his face."

Annabeth chuckled, "Sure, not like I actually have anything else to do. I'll even get Susan to make cookies."

Thalia cheered, "Yeah, bonus!"

•*•*•

It was one of those rare days they actually got there early, so they chose to hang out by their lockers instead of going straight to class. Rachel, Grover and Juniper had already arrived for time to work on a project earlier, so they gathered in a small circle in the hallway.

Rachel smoothed her crazy red curls back as much as they could. "So, Annie, only, what, six days left?"

Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "Don't call me Annie. And yeah, six days and a few hours. Don't really care, though," she tried to brush it off, but secretly she could already feel the butterflies growing in her stomach.

Truthfully, inside she was a nervous wreck. I mean, with meeting the one person you would spend the rest of your life with, who wouldn't be? And now that there was a chance it could be Thalia's cocky bastard of a cousin, she was even more anxious. She was good at keeping her emotions in check, so thankfully none of this showed through.

Rachel giggled. "Sure you're totally cool with meeting your soulmate in just six days," she teased, winking at Annabeth. The blonde just rolled her eyes. "Can we talk about something else?"

"But Annie-" Juniper began teasingly, but was interrupted when Drew Tanaka stopped by their circle and jutted her hip out.

"So, Annie here's countdown ends in a week? I bet it's gonna be some nerdy kid," she tried to insult. It ended up making Thalia laugh. "Oh- hahahha- sorry I just- ha- you're pathetic," she finished, still laughing.

Juniper and Rachel both tried to stifle their giggles while Annabeth laughed into the palm of her hand. Drew just rolled her eyes and walked away, still swaying her hips confidently.

A year ago they would have all cowered (except for Thalia), but they had soon learned that even though Drew was popular and pretty smart, she sucked at coming up with good insults. She still tried, but Thalia made a point to laugh off every attempt.

The warning bell rang, telling them all they had five minutes to get to class. Annabeth waved goodbye to her friends, heading excitedly to her architectural design class. It was definitely her favorite class of the day, seeing as she wanted to study architecture in college.

So Annabeth was probably the only person grinning throughout the entire class.

•*•*•

Lunch rolled around after fourth period, and Annabeth made her way to the table she and her friends always sat at, walking alongside Piper and Silena. They met the others at the table and sat down.

Thalia threw her arm around Nico's shoulders, "So how was New York, cuz?"

Thalia and Nico were both cousins on their dads' side, and Nico had gone to New York to visit his mother and his sister, since their parents got divorced and split the custody. Bianca had ended up in New York with their mother, and Nico had stayed in California with their father.

Nico shrugged. "Bianca and I visited Percy for a few weeks."

Wait, Percy? As in the same Percy that's moving here Saturday?

Thalia gave Annabeth a pointed look. "Yeah, he's moving here on the same day Annabeth's supposed to meet her soulmate," she casually leaned her head on her hand and smirked at me. Immediately all the inhabitants of the table turned to stare at her. She could feel her cheeks flush but she stared back, defiant. "Come on, Thalia pretty much told me on the way to school that he's not my type!" She protested, but Piper and Silena were smiling widely. Annabeth groaned.

They all teased her for the rest of the lunch period. The rest of the week seemed to pass by in a flash. Saturday arrived way too soon for her liking.

* * *

**Yep that's it for this chapter, I'll hopefully write more soon, so stay tuned!**

**~Bri xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm back :) This is the second chapter of this little soulmate AU! **

**It is also beta'd by Ash, she rocks.**

**I honestly didn't expect the massive positive reaction I got to this! I mean, 21 reviews for one chapter? Just... damn. Thanks a bunch, guys, ****I hope I don't disappoint! Remember, this is an AU so they'll be a little OOC (Or a lot in Percy's case; but he has a good reason).**

**Disclaimer: You guys know the drill.**

* * *

A bump in the road startled the raven haired boy awake. He stretched as much as he could in the small space of his mother's car, running a hand through his already mussed up hair.

"Have a nice nap, sweetie?" Sally Jackson teased, tearing her gaze from the road for a split second to give an amused look to her son. Percy scowled sleepily and pulled his leather jacket tighter around his shoulders. "How much longer?"

Sally glanced at the car radio clock, which read 11:46 am. "Just about an hour left," she told her son, who's eyes widened and glanced down at his wrist.

"Mom, my countdown ends in about an hour!"

"Then who knows? You'll probably meet your soulmate in the new neighborhood!" Sally said excitedly, with only a trace of sadness in her voice. Her own soulmate, a man named Poseidon Jackson, had been lost at sea when Percy was only five years old. Now her son was about to find his soulmate. _They grow up so fast_, she thought.

Percy's hands fumbled nervously in his lap. He knew, logically, that he had nothing to be anxious about, but he couldn't help it. After all, he was only sixteen years old and about to meet the love of his life for the first time.

Percy knew he had a tough exterior that made him seem like a prick. Honestly, he acted that way on purpose. He had learned to bottle up his emotions ever since his mother had remarried to a guy named Smelly Gabe. That's one reason for their sudden move; they needed to escape that abusive son of a bitch.

Percy gently traced the now faint bruises on his stomach, eternally grateful they had left New York.

Sally could sense her son's apprehension, and quickly turned up the radio, knowing her son would definitely react to Fall Out Boy. Hopefully that would ease the tension until they arrived at the new house.

"Oh yeah, _Young Volcanoes_!" Percy smiled in victory and started moving his arms to play an air guitar. Sally laughed at her son's antics and he spent the rest of the drive singing along to whatever song came on on the radio.

•*•*•

Annabeth sat in Thalia's room and tried not to constantly glance down at her wrist. She averted her eyes when the countdown it 00:00:05:38.

"Five minutes," she breathed out, trying to quell the fear in her stomach. She had thrown on another flannel, this time gray, and another pair of skinny jeans with gray converse high tops, perfect for carrying large boxes during late fall. You could already feel the chill in the air.

"What was that?" Thalia shouted from the bathroom, with an amused edge to her voice. Annabeth scowled before she realized Thalia couldn't see her. "Nothing," the blonde mumbled, pulling her sleeve over the tattoo again. She could feel her pulse racing under her fingers as she touched her wrist.

"Hey, why don't you go ahead to their new house? They probably aren't there yet, and can you tell them I'll be there in like ten minutes!" Thalia yelled, and Annabeth rolled her eyes. Sometimes she thought Thalia put too much work into looking punk rock.

Shaking slightly, she stood up and bounced down the stairs then started down the street. She subconsciously scratched at her wrist tattoo most of the way, occasionally looking down at it with unease. It read 00:00:02:05. Almost exactly two minutes, and she already pretty much knew who her soulmate would be.

She finally made it to the driveway of the empty house, seeing a giant SOLD sticker slapped over the _For Sale_ sign that was stuck in the front yard. Now that she properly thought about it, it was fairly odd for a kid to be transferring schools across the entire country in the middle of October. Well, since this kid was apparently supposed to be her soulmate (according to Thalia, Piper, Silena and Hazel), she would most likely find out the reason.

00:00:00:27.

_Twenty seven seconds._

Annabeth ran a hand through her messy blonde curls, breathing out through her mouth. Her eyes immediately found the old silver car entering the neighborhood.

_Nineteen seconds._

The car pulled up to the end of the driveway, and a teenage boy stepped out of the passenger seat.

_Seventeen. Sixteen. Fifteen_.

Percy's eyes snapped up to the blonde girl standing awkwardly in the driveway, fiddling with the sleeve on her left wrist; the wrist that everyone's countdowns were tattoed on. And boy, was she pretty. He could see no traces of makeup, and her hair was messily framing her face, but he still thought she looked beautiful. Did this happen with everyone's soulmates?

_Fourteen. Thirteen. Twelve_.

Annabeth crossed her arms as she observed the teenage boy, Percy Jackson, she reminded herself, walking up the driveway. She expected him to be attractive, from what Thalia had told her, but she didn't know he'd be... _this_ attractive. His messy black hair looked windblown, as if he hadn't even bothered to run a comb through it. His hands were casually tucked in his leather jacket's pockets, but his tense posture gave him away. He was just as nervous as she was.

_Eleven. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four._

An older lady, who Annabeth assumed to be his mom, stepped out of the driver's seat and opened the trunk.

_Three. Two._

Stormy gray met sea green.

**_One._**

"So you must be my lucky girl," Percy gave her an arrogant grin, hands still shoved in the pockets of his leather jacket. Annabeth groaned inwardly. As far as first impressions go, he was exactly like Thalia said.

"So, your countdown ended too?" She almost smacked herself. Of course his countdown had ended. Who else was around? She outwardly facepalmed and mumbled, "Sorry, that was a stupid question."

Percy chuckled, his sea green eyes twinkling. He held out his hand, and Annabeth hesitantly took it. "Percy Jackson," he introduced himself, and Annabeth smiled despite herself. "Annabeth Chase." Percy held on to her hand longer than usual and flashed her a charming grin. "Annabeth, that's a unique name."

"So is Percy," Annabeth countered, and Percy nodded. "Touché."

Percy cleared his throat, hooking his thumbs in the front pockets of his jeans. "So, you and me, dinner later? I kind of would like to get to know my soulmate," he winked. Annabeth tried not to, but she felt the heat rising to her cheeks.

"Fine," she sighed, "but I get to pick the restaurant." She crossed her arms and waited for him to argue, but he surprised her by smiling and saying "Deal."

They both stood there silently for a few seconds, Annabeth fiddling with her flannel sleeve self-consciously while the dark haired boy was distracted with her eyes. They were a fierce gray, almost silver, and reflected the sunlight perfectly.

He looked away quickly when she caught him staring, trying to quell the blush quickly spreading across his cheeks.

"Annabeth!" They heard a yell from a ways down the street, and both turned to see Thalia jogging towards them.

"What, no greeting for your awesome cousin who you haven't seen in years? I'm wounded," he joked, holding a hand up to his heart.

Thalia punched him in the shoulder, making him flinch. "Shut it, asshat. Annie here is my best friend."

Annabeth gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes. "Don't call me that, you weirdo."

"Oh yeah?" Thalia challenged, pulling Annabeth into a headlock. The blonde growled playfully and ducked out of Thalia's arm, sending a glare in the girl's direction for good measure.

"So," Thalia stopped the roughousing and settled her hands on her hips, "are you two soulmates or what?"

"Thalia!" Annabeth complained, crossing her arms with an embarrassed huff. Thalia giggled and nudged her shoulder. "What did I tell ya?"

Percy observed the endeavor with a smirk on his face. Annabeth had to fight the urge to smack that smug grin off of his too-good-looking face.

The brown haired woman Annabeth had seen getting out of the car earlier approached them, smiling widely. "Thalia, so good to see you!" Thalia looked up at the mention of her name and eagerly walked into the woman's arms, hugging her back. "Good to see you too Sally."

"That's my mom," Percy explained, giving her a strained smile, "She might-" He never got to finish his sentence because Sally then turned to Annabeth.

"Who's this?" she asked her son, beaming knowingly at him. She heard Percy sigh before he spoke. "Mom, this is Annabeth. She's my, well, my soulmate. Annabeth, this is my mom, Sally Jackson," he introduced, then she found herself being pulled into Sally's arms.

Annabeth gave a surprised squeak before squeezing her back. "Welcome to the family, dear," Sally said kindly, finally releasing her. Annabeth almost smirked as she saw Percy's face go red.

•*•*•

It took a few hours to move them in once the moving truck arrived. They occasionally took a break in which Sally would make them all lemonade, and now they were carrying in the last of the boxes.

Annabeth followed Percy up the stairs to his new room, carrying a couple of boxes of whatever he had packed. "What do you have in here, rocks?" Annabeth wheezed, readjusting the boxes in her arms.

"Close," Percy answered, waiting until she had finished climbing the stairs to set his own boxes down on the bed. He took one of the boxes out of her arms and opened it on the floor; inside was a huge collection of seashells. There must have been eight or nine jars of seashells of all different kinds.

Annabeth set the other box down and sat cross-legged on the floor. "Wow. That's a lot," why would a guy like Percy have that many seashells, of all things? Everyone had their own thing, she supposed.

"Yeah," Percy's voice had gotten slightly heavier. "It… it reminds me of my dad," he said quietly, and Annabeth smiled sadly. So he had lost a parent too. She suspected there was a lot more to the story than he was letting on.

"I lost someone too," she commented before she could stop herself. "My mom. She died in a car crash when I was six." She finished, not quite sure why she was telling this to someone she just met, even if it is her soulmate.

Percy sat down next to her and intertwined their fingers. "I'm sorry," he smiled crookedly at her. Annabeth was staring at their hands, shocked, but she decided to let it go. They were going to get together anyway, sometime. She just wasn't sure how long it would take.

_I guess it depends on how long it takes for him to get over being an asshole_, she thought with an amused and slightly frustrated smile.

* * *

**That's the end of chapter two! Their little date is in the next chapter, so maybe they'll get to know each other better ;)**

**~Bri xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm back again! **

**Sorry it took so long, I just started school like four days ago and had a shitload of homework. But I'm here now!**

**Thanks for all the reviews guys! I really hope this chapter doesn't disappoint!**

**Beta'd yet again by my hella cool friend Ashlyn.**

**Disclaimer: Do you really think a 15 year old girl could own something as great as PJO?**

* * *

They arrived at the restaurant shortly after finishing with the boxes... so around 4:30.

Annabeth had all but refused to wear anything fancy, so they both remained in the clothes they wore earlier. Not that Percy had been planning on anything fancy. Annabeth didn't strike him as a chandelier and champange kind of girl.

It was a small diner, one that Annabeth had always gone to growing up, as she had told Percy. He figured she wanted somewhere she was comfortable with. Not that he was complaining. After all, the sign did say they had cheeseburgers.

They sat in a booth in the corner, waiting in a bit of an awkward silence until the waitress arrived.

"Hey, Annabeth, who's this?" The waitress, Reyna (as her nametag stated) asked. Percy watched smugly as Annabeth flushed red. She seemed to do that a lot, but (not that he'd ever admit it), he found it cute.

Annabeth grinned at her friend. "Hey Rey. This is Percy, I just met him today, actually, and, well..." she pulled up her left sleeve to show her the countdown which now read 00:00:00:00, and Percy did the same. Reyna gasped, giving a surprised smile. "I didn't know your countdown had ended!"

"Relax Rey, it just ended today," Annabeth assured her, leaning back on the seat of the booth. Reyna gave them both a knowing look, nodding in approval after eyeing Percy for a second more. For some reason Percy felt a flutter in his stomach at already being accepted by one of Annabeth's friends. People's opinions never affected him before, so why now?

He supposed it was the whole 'soulmate' thing.

"So Annie, I'll just get you your usual?" Reyna prepared to jot down the order on her pad of paper. Annabeth just sighed, not even bothering to correct the nickname. Percy just snickered, and barely kept from flinching at the paralyzing death glare that was sent his way.

Annabeth stopped glaring and spoke, "Yeah, he'll have the same thing- relax Percy, it's just a cheeseburger and a Coke, I'm not poisoning you," she added when he began to protest.

"Awh, already ordering each other's food," Reyna mock-gushed. She walked back to the kitchen, leaving Percy and Annabeth alone.

"I'm still suspicious of you," Percy teased, which made Annabeth roll her eyes.

Annabeth settled her elbow on the table, leaning her cheek against her hand. "So you wanted to get to know me...?" She started, and Percy smirked.

"Why yes I did... so, let's alternate asking questions?"

"Fine. You start."

"Okay..." Percy thought for a minute. "Favorite animal?"

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "What the hell kind of question is that?" Percy let out a frustrated breath. "I don't know, we just met. Just answer the damn question."

"An owl."

"An owl?"

"Yeah, they represent wisdom and intelligence, despite actually being the least intelligent of birds."

"Nerd."

"Smartass."

"Touché. Okay, your turn."

"Hmm," Annabeth fiddled with her sleeve again. Percy was starting to notice she did this whenever she was nervous, as well as biting her lip. "Favorite color?" She shrugged.

"That's easy," Percy grinned. "Blue."

Annabeth smiled. "May I ask why? Not that blue's not a fantastic color. Just, is there any particular reason?"

"Actually yeah. My step-dad once told my mom there was no such thing as blue food, and my mom, being the rebellious girl she is, started making everything blue. Birthday cakes, chips, even waffles," Percy finished, smiling fondly, green eyes sparkling. He could still remember the first time his mother had cooked blue pancakes for breakfast. The look on his face was priceless.

"Wow," Annabeth commented, giggling. "Do you think she could make me some blue waffles? Those sound cool."

"Of course, now if you'll excuse me, I believe it is my turn to ask you a question," Percy stated with mock formality.

They continued for a while, asking random questions and making sarcastic comments, only stopping when Reyna came by with their food and gave them another knowing look. A bit less than an hour in, Percy had worked up the courage to grab Annabeth's hand across the table. This made the blonde bite her lip and blush, which in turn caused Percy to give her a genuine smile.

By the end of the night, Annabeth was finally comfortable enough around him. "I'm not gonna lie, when we first met I thought you would turn out to be a total jerk." She thought he would laugh at this, but she was unpleasantly surprised when his smile turned into a frown.

"Percy?"

He didn't answer, pulling his hand away from hers. Annabeth tried to grab it back, already missing the now familiar warmth. "Percy, I'm sorry, I-"

"Don't just assume things about me," he snapped, firmly setting his jaw. Tension crackled in the air, offset just a bit by Annabeth's questioning look.

His gaze softened when he saw her slump back in her seat, fiddling with her flannel sleeve again. He reached back across the table and intertwined their fingers, making her look back up at him, startled. "Sorry for snapping at you like that... I just, I have a reason I acted that way, but I can't tell you just yet," he explained, hoping to have eased the tension.

He sighed in relief when Annabeth squeezed his hand, looking into his eyes. "Alright. But you don't have to act like that anymore, do you?"

Percy grinned and shook his head. "Not anymore, nope."

"Good, because if you do, I will not hesitate to kick your ass," she warned. Percy raised his free hand in defeat. "I don't doubt that."

•*•*•

The drive home was spent in a mostly comfortable silence.

That is, until Percy decided to interrupt it. "So what do you think of this whole soulmate thing?" He asked, stretching one arm across the back of the seat and keeping the other on the steering wheel.

Annabeth sighed, tugging at her sleeve again. "Honestly, I don't know what to think. A few days ago I was convinced that the whole thing was stupid and annoying but now... I just don't know. How about you?"

"Well, my life generally wasn't all that great back in New York, so I guess this was my one thing I was always looking forward to, finding my other half. I've been kind of excited about it my entire life, I guess. Or at least since I knew what a soulmate was."

Annabeth pulled her knees up to her chest, suddenly feeling self-conscious. Here he was, excited about meeting her, and she had dreaded the moment when he had arrived in the neighborhood. What kind of a soulmate was she? "Oh. A bit unlucky you're stuck with me then. I must be the worst soulmate ever."

"Whoa there," she suddenly jerked to the side a bit as Percy pulled over to the side of the road. "Who ever said you were a bad soulmate?" Percy frowned at her, ruffling his dark hair with one hand.

She shrugged, "I mean, you've been wanting this, and... and I just don't know."

Percy frowned again. "You are definitely not a bad soulmate. Tell you what, we're going roller-skating tomorrow. Our first official date."

Annabeth was taken aback. "Roller-skating?"

"Yeah, saw a place on the way here. I'm going to make it fun to have a soulmate," he grinned at her, and she couldn't help but smile back.

Maybe this soulmate thing wouldn't be so bad.

When they finally pulled in Annabeth's driveway, she was actually sorry to see the night end. She wondered if it was like that with everyone's soulmates, or if it was just them.

Percy walked her to the front porch. She turned her back to the front door, facing him. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds. Neither of them could think of anything to say that wouldn't be too cliche or weird. Annabeth bit her lip, yet again pulling at her left sleeve.

Percy let out a frustrated breath. "Ugh I just..." he paused at Annabeth's confused look.

Apparently the lip biting was too much. "Oh fuck it," he threw caution to the wind, setting his hands on her hips and pulling her closer. "Percy wha-"

He interrupted her by pressing his lips against hers. Almost immediately, Annabeth curled her arms around his neck and kissed him back, letting out a little noise of pleasure that Percy found absolutely adorable.

He pulled away, both of them breathless, and rested his forehead against hers. "That was another reminder that you are definitely not a bad soulmate," he teased, kissing her nose before shoving his hands in his pockets and turning towards the car.

Annabeth watched him go, completely flustered. She felt a strange warmth inside, like there was a small flame in her stomach, making the butterflies go wild. Her cheeks still felt heated. She only moved when her stepmother appeared on the front porch and ushered her inside.

"Annabeth! Annabeth!" She heard her little brothers, Matthew and Bobby, come bounding down the hallway, and grinned.

"Hey, little guys!" She ruffled their hair, which caused them to giggle and swat her hands away. "Who was that?" Bobby asked, looking up at Annabeth with big, curious eyes.

The blonde sixteen year old girl fidgeted with her hands. "Oh, that was a... friend from school." she finally answered, silently hoping her brothers wouldn't prod anymore. Naturally, they both tugged on her sleeve, opening their mouths to voice their questions, when her sleeve rode up enough to reveal her soulmate tattoo. She quickly pulled it down, but not before her brothers got a glimpse of the zeroes.

Matthew and Bobby both gasped, smiles of wonder on their faces. "Was he your soulmate?" they asked in sync, both now pulling on the bottom of her flannel.

"No," she lied, but unfortunately, they seemed not to hear her, as they both dragged her into the kitchen, yelling, "ANNIE FOUND HER SOULMATE!"

Her stepmom looked up from where she was making dinner, looking amusedly at her sons. She already knew her daughter's countdown had ended today, but she did not yet know who her daughter's soulmate _was_.

Despite the soulmate tattoos, people could fall in love again after their soulmate passed away. Annabeth's birth mother, Athena Chase, passed in a car crash a few years ago, leaving Annabeth's father alone. He had found Susan, whose husband had died just a month before the car crash. Long story short, they had fallen in love and gotten married, even if they weren't soulmates.

"Is it that young man I saw driving away?" Susan questioned, setting the kitchen knife down on the counter beside the half-chopped carrots.

Annabeth sighed. She knew Percy would have to meet her parents eventually, because it was customary. "Yeah. His name's Percy," she informed, moving to sit at the kitchen bar. "He's taking me roller-skating tomorrow."

Susan raised her eyebrow, "That ought to be fun. You'll have to bring him around for dinner sometime."

The blonde smiled weakly at her stepmother. "Of course I will, Susan."

* * *

**So we met Reyna, and learned that Percy isn't as much of an asshole as Annabeth thought at first glance ;)**

**Next chapter will span the roller-skating date, then to their school the next day! Exciting, right? The rest of the gang gets to meet Percy.**

**So the next chapter should (hopefully) be up soon!**

**~Bri xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey there! I'm so sorry for not updating sooner!**

**I had a lot of schoolwork. Seriously, who do they think they are, assigning that much early on? Ridiculous. Also, season three of Once Upon a Time finally showed up on Netflix so I couldn't resist finishing that.**

**Anyway, thanks so much for all the reviews, all positive too! I never thought I'd get a reaction like that to this kinda spur-of-the-moment idea, but thank you so much!**

**I hope this chapter doesn't suck.**

**Once again beta'd by my awesome friend Ashlyn! **

**Disclaimer: Uncle Rick owns all these fabulous characters, and I actually quoted Star Wars in this chapter, so that doesn't belong to me either. This idea also doesn't belong fully to me. Dammit.**

·*·*·

The rink was full by the time they arrived. One woman dragged her son out towards the middle of the rink, where those who didn't know how to skate practiced. Annabeth tugged happily on Percy's hand, leading him towards the rental skates. Percy allowed himself to be pulled along with an amused smile on his face.

They paid for their rental skates and sat down to put them on. "I haven't been roller-skating since I was seven," Percy remarked, tying the laces on his skates. "Really?" Annabeth replied, surprised, but her tone turned mischievous. "Are you sure you can do it?" she taunted, pushing herself off the ground.

Percy scoffed. "Of course I can!" he crossed his arms defiantly. Sure enough, when he stood up, he only wobbled a bit. They made their way to the rink, and Annabeth stepped on first, only swaying slightly.

However, when Percy stepped on, it didn't even take him two seconds for him to fall on his butt on the floor. "Ow!"

Annabeth snorted and held out a hand to pull him up. Percy's face turned beet red with embarrassment. Annabeth's gaze softened. "Percy, it's okay. You just haven't skated in a while, come on," she smiled.

Finally he grabbed her hands and pulled himself up. "I'm not sure I remember how to do it," he admitted, and another grin etched its way on to the blonde's face. "Then I'll just have to teach you," she stated cheerfully.

Percy's eyes widened and he started to protest. "Oh, I don't know-" but it was too late. Annabeth dragged Percy out into the rink. She could hear the teenage boy muttering curses under his breath and giggled silently.

"Oh shi-" Percy managed to say before he tripped, sending them both tumbling to the floor. He managed to catch himself so that he was hovering over her in a slightly awkward position.

They both blushed madly, and Percy grinned sheepishly as Annabeth busted into laughter.

"Percy," she laughed, "maybe you need more practice." She smirked and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

Percy shrugged with a half-smile on his face, "Probably."

They spent the rest of their date with Annabeth pulling Percy around the rink and occasionally letting him skate on his own. According to the blonde teen, he was getting better.

"You're getting good, Jackson," Annabeth smirked at her apprentice as he finally skated without wobbling too much. Percy managed to glance up at his soulmate before focusing back on his skates. "I have a good teacher," he remarked slyly, and Annabeth felt herself blushing again. Fuck.

When he made it to where Annabeth was waiting, she grinned. "Soon we'll be able to skate like figure-skaters," she teased and poked him in the stomach. The reaction she got wasn't the one she expected.

Percy hissed in pain and clutched his stomach, a bruise still sore from… Smelly Gabe.

"Percy?" Annabeth's voice raised in alarm.

"I-It's nothing, I just… bumped into a table corner the other day on accident," he lied smoothly, breathing slowly and standing back up straight.

Annabeth eyed him suspiciously. She knew how to read people, a skill she had learned early on, and she could tell that he wasn't telling the truth. Though she wanted to know what he was hiding, she supposed he had his reasons for keeping it a secret. He would tell her when he was ready. Still, that didn't stop her from worrying.

"I think we've had enough skating for tonight, it's getting late anyway and we have school tomorrow," Annabeth reasoned, lightly pulling on Percy's arm. Percy nodded silently and they both made their way to the rental skate place and returned their skates.

_I will figure out what's going on_, Annabeth thought to herself.

·*·*·

Today when Percy woke up, he felt lighter. Sure, he was going to _school_, but at least he'd get to see Annabeth.

He pulled on a blue plaid shirt and shrugged his leather jacket on over it. He quickly brushed his teeth and ruffled his hair, going downstairs when he deemed it decent. "Hey mom," he greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. "I'm off to school!"

"By sweetie!" Sally called after him, shaking her head and grinning. Even she knew her son was absolutely smitten, because he had never wanted to go to school until he met Annabeth.

Percy had never liked school. He never really had any friends, and his teachers hated him. The last one was his fault on purpose.

This, however, is a different story. This school was miles away from his ex-stepfather, and he had met his soulmate, finally. This alone added an extra spring in his step when he walked in through the school's front doors. He immediately snapped his gaze to a blonde in converse, skinny jeans and a grey sweatshirt. He could recognize those golden curls anywhere.

He was about to go talk to her when he saw she was occupied with a rather large group of other kids by the lockers. All the sudden he didn't feel so special anymore. Of course she had other friends, she didn't need him.

"Percy?" His head snapped up and Annabeth's smiling face was close to his. "Hey," he replied breathlessly.

She tilted her head to the side. "Are you nervous? They won't bite, I promise," she teased.

Percy chuckled. "Of course not, just, ya know, new school and all."

Annabeth rolled her eyes playfully and intertwined their fingers, dragging him over to the group of students by what he assumed was Annabeth's locker.

"Hey guys, this is Percy," she introduced. "Percy, this is-"

"-the loser group. Come hang with us," A smooth female voice commented from behind them. Percy and Annabeth turned to reveal a tall pretty girl with silky black hair.

She held her hand out for Percy to shake. "Drew Tanaka. What's your name, sweetie?" she asked in a sugary sweet voice. Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Really Drew?"

Drew sent a sneer in Annabeth's direction. Percy watched the exchange amusedly. As if he'd ever ditch his soulmate for her.

"Sorry, Drew, but I think I'd rather hang out with my soulmate," he carefully avoided her outstretched hand and watched as her face contorted first into confusion, then shock. "Wait, Chase is your soulmate?"

Annabeth nodded confidently, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Drew put her hands on her hips. "And why don't I believe you?"

Percy grinned. "I find your lack of faith disturbing."

Drew's eyebrows furrowed like _what the fuck? _Apparently not getting the reference, she huffed under her breath and stalked away.

Annabeth turned to Percy trying not to laugh. "Did you just quote Star Wars?"

Percy nudged her side. "It would be a shame not to."

They both burst into laughter, and were only interrupted by Juniper. "Hey, sorry about her by the way. She's a bitch," she said matter-of-factly. "I'm Juniper Bush, and this is Grover, Piper, Jason, Leo, Nico, Bianca, Frank, Hazel, Silena, Beckendorf, and Rachel," she introduced hurriedly, as the warning bell was about to ring.

Percy grinned. "Nice to meet you guys."

Piper and Silena smiled knowingly. "Soooo… you're Annie's soulmate then?" Silena gave them a sly look.

Annabeth put her face in her hands. "Guyyysssss!" she complained. The entire group, including said soulmate, laughed.

Percy slid his arm around Annabeth's waist and tugged her into his side. "Yep, we're just meant to be!" he exclaimed teasingly, and Annabeth lightly slapped him in the arm. "You're such a dork."

"Nerd."

"Shut it, Seaweed Brain."

·*·*·

**Hopefully that wasn't bad? I tried. **

**But yes, Percy is indeed hiding his secret from Annabeth. Hehe we'll see how that turns out ;)**

**~Bri xx**


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